


A Couple of Cards

by TheHipsterSinner



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Autism, Autistic Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), There isn’t really any romantic relationships except Markus and North, just platonic/family ones okay? chill, third person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-08-26 02:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16673134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHipsterSinner/pseuds/TheHipsterSinner
Summary: In a world where androids and humans are slowly beginning to live together harmoniously, something is attempting to ruin the newfound peace.Now, it is up to three people, an android and two humans, in Detroit, Michigan to make sure everything stays how it is supposed to be.*Updates are at least once every two months*





	1. The Girl—Blue All Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something bad happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m trying to get back in to writing after stopping for a while, and I couldn’t get this idea out of my head, so... yeah. I’m a little late to the fandom, but that’s okay. 
> 
> WARNING: A few of these chapters will mention underage/rape situations, but they are all non-graphic, the most graphic one is the beginning of this scene. Once the fourth chapter goes up, everything will be understood, but if you are not comfortable with these mentions, please skip the first four paragraphs of this chapter, and I will tell you other ones you should skip if you get upset because of this. I’m sorry, but it’s extremely important to the plot, so I can’t get rid of it.
> 
> Btw, the title is from Game Grumps’ “A Way Out” playthrough, you should go check it out, it’s really good.
> 
> So, thanks for reading this, more is to come.

“Thanks for the fun, sweetheart,” the man flirtatiously whispered, leaning down and gently kissing the young girl on her lips. After approximately 4.7 seconds, he pulled away and left the softly-lift room, the girl staying behind on the large, circular bed. 

 _Another day, another... whatever_ , the girl with the long, dark brown hair thought to herself. Her deep green eyes quickly scanned the room, finding her clothes (but really, her undergarments) on the floor, strewn about. Thankfully, due to the sharp contrast between the light pink carpet and the dark purple-black of her clothes, she was able to find them. Otherwise, with her horrible eyesight, she would have been forced to get down on the ground and try to feel for them.  

It took her a few moments to stand up, like usual. She let go of the soft, scarlet blanket wrapped around her naked, sweaty body. The cool air from the AC vent above hit her, causing a shiver to course through her body, from her shoulders to her toes. 

She put on the clothes, next finding her matching five-inch heels and putting those on, too. She fixed the bed, making it again for its next use. 

Once done with that, she took a deep breath before leaving the room, walking as gracefully as one can after the job she had just performed. 

The music from downstairs blared through the perfectly clean, sparkly tile. There were no lyrics, no voice, just an instrumental for the androids who were dancing and to cover up any too loud sounds. The 5’5” girl, now 5’9” due to the heels, recognised the song immediately. _Track 7, Version 1.5_ , at minute 1:14. The music were never actually given proper titles.

As the girl travelled her usual path, she stopped and looked down the balcony that she always passed. 

She saw what she saw everyday: both female and male androids performing, trying to convince a female or male to choose them, to have fun with them. There were quite a few people looking around, both humans and androids alike, and a few salespeople, trying to help them choose and convince them to choose a certain one.

_I wonder_ , the brunette thought, _if they only knew..._

She sighed and continued walking, her heels making a familiar _click-clack_ noise against the floor. After 43 seconds, she made it to her room, but today, she went right past it, wanting to do something else first.

It takes the girl another 32 seconds to walk to the room that she had in mind. She stopped in front of the black, one-way glass door, like most doors, and softly knocked on it. 

No answer. 

This is strange to the girl. The resident of this room, someone the girl has known for some of her life, was not working today. The brunette had made sure of that this morning before going to work. However, the thought that the resident was working did cross her mind since said resident would always answer the door after the second knock, especially when it was said girl.

The tall miss knocked on the door again, this time rather loudly.

Still no answer.

Suddenly, she shivered once again, but not due to the cold air. 

Due to the feeling of a pair of eyes upon her.

She looked to her left, where she came. The hall was empty. She then looked to her right. For a second, the young girl believed that she saw someone, perhaps a shadow, but it was incredibly hard to tell for sure. 

Thinking that she is being merely paranoid, the girl shrugged off her worries and called out, “Lilly? Are you in there?”  

Still no answer.

It felt as if the girl’s heart got stuck in her throat, pounding, begging to leave her body. An unsettling feeling slowly formed in her core, one that made her feel even colder than before and almost numb. Thinking that she had no other choice, she entered the room.

“Lilly, can I talk to you for a...” The brunette started talking before looking around. She found no figure standing, nor laying on the velvet bed or sitting in the matching love seat. 

“Lilly?” The miss squinted her eyes, trying her best to find out if she just wasn’t noticing her friend. She took a step forward, then another, and another. 

Underneath her foot, an almost silent splashing noice was made.

The pretty girl looked down and continued to squint. She made out the colour blue, a dark and royal blue, on the ground. It could have been mistaken for paint to the untrained eye, but the girl knew what it was right away.

Thirium 310, a.k.a blue blood.

The puddle was big, consuming an eighth of the room, covering the mahogany carpet. 

And a few inches away, laying stilly on top of the puddle, was a half-naked body on its side, facing away from the girl and wearing the same clothing that she was wearing, down to the shoes.

“Lilly!” The girl cried out for her friend, dropping to her knees that became soaked with the horrifyingly beautiful blue. She reached out to the body and turned it as gently as she could. She stared at the body’s face, getting as close to it as she could without making contact to it, and squinting. 

The girl recognised the all too familiar brown, now glassy, eyes, perfectly wavy, lavender hair, button nose, and light pink, kissable lips.

“Lilly, oh my god!” The panicking girl cried, inspecting her silent friend’s body. There was blue _all over_ her cold body, and her stomach was open. There was more blue inside, along with wires and valves. In the dead center, something was missing. 

The girl, having done research millions of times in the past, figured out what was missing instantly. 

Biocomponent #8451: The thirium pump regulator.

The distressed miss considered looking around for the part, to try to save her friend, but it was already to late. She saw the LED on the top right side of her friends head. It wasn’t blue, like normal, nor was it yellow, red, or even a mixture of two of the options.

It was simply off.

“Lilly... no, no, no...” The girl whimpered, tears rolling down her face as she clutched onto her dead friend. She softly wept for a few moments, she had lost track of time, before hearing something to her right. 

The crying miss looked up and to her right, to the door. Standing outside of the door was... _someone_. She couldn’t make out who it was, thanks to her bad vision and blurriness from tears.

All she saw was the olive colour of the person’s skin, how they were very tall, how they were wearing dark clothes, and how it felt as if the person was _staring right at her_.

“ _Why_?!” The girl just about screamed, thinking that this person could possibly be the person who murdered her dear friend. 

The person walked away after a couple seconds, leaving the girl alone to sob for her dead friend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update:
> 
> Fuck, I meant to have the android’s name be Lilly, cause that one premonitory android with the messed up head is named Lucy.
> 
> Welp.
> 
> Problem solved, I guess.


	2. Connor—Déjà Vu, Am I Right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again.

Three months, four days, two hours, and twenty-seven minutes.

That is how long it had been since the successful, peaceful (for the most part) android revolution completely occurred.

But it’s not like Connor had been counting or anything. 

Ah, yes, Connor. 

The android, the detective, the deviant, the RX800 prototype.

Connor was certainly one of the most stubborn to become a deviant.

Don’t be mistaken, Connor’s every action showed his compassion, such as saving his partner and sparing multiple androids in different situations.

However, despite all those choices, Connor refused to believe that he was a deviant, along with the deviants’ actions being good. He knew all the things he had done, and, hell, he had thought for a moment, that maybe there was something wrong with him, but no, he would tell himself, there is probably just a malfunction in the programming.

He was a prototype after all.

In the end, though, Connor realised who he _really_ was and broke free from Cyber Life’s control, becoming deviant and preventing himself making a horrible mistake: attempting  to kill Marcus Manfred, the deviant RX200 android who lead the revolution. 

On that day, Connor somewhat gained the trust of the other deviants who helped lead the revolution, saving many androids from being killed by narrow-minded humans, and helped preserve the revolution, even turning hundreds into deviants and betraying and defeating his old mentor, Amanda.

After that day, everything slowly calmed down. Thanks to Cyber Life coming to terms with deviants and accepting that they were not dangerous, nor going to be stopped, all androids became deviants, now free to do whatever they do or please. No longer are they slaves for humans.

However, this does not mean that all androids are free of hate.

Anyway, things have definitely been better for androids ever since the revolution. And, now, Connor can finally do what he wants.

And while being a detective is technically what he was made to do, he certainly loves doing it.

His current situation was this: the man he was partnered with, Lt. Hank Anderson, ended up becoming very close with Connor. After the revolution, and Connor having nowhere to go, Lieutenant let Connor stay at his home, with his lovable, adorable St. Bernard, Sumo. He even insisted for Connor to take his last name, due to Connor now having a formal I.D. and everything. 

Connor definitely liked staying with Lieutenant and Sumo. He’s able to cook whatever he likes (Lieutenant rarely ever ate good, healthy food previously), he could take care of the house (he liked everything being organised, and being proactive is something he liked to do), and, over all, he could be with Lieutenant, and Sumo, of course.

Having not known what true loneliness nor accompaniment was, Connor didn’t really understand the concept of having friends, like Lieutenant and Markus, even after becoming deviant. Feelings were surely something that Connor would have to, and was still getting, used to. 

Connor’s usual moods were usually happiness, seriousness, and playfulness. Those positive feelings were, for the most part, simple to the android. However, negative emotions, like sadness, fear, and anger, would only be slightly shown when felt, and were much harder to get used to. Those feelings woiled so far just build up in Connor, until the day he reached his breaking point.

For instance, one night, when Connor had participated in a nightmare (which still made somewhat no sense to him). He had dreamt (or, at least, the android equivalent of dreaming) that Amanda had successfully taken back control of Connor and forced him to not only kill Markus, but Lt. Anderson. 

Those images were extremely conflicting to Connor, but, thankfully, he had Lieutenant and Sumo to comfort him. 

The present day was February 16, 2039, 3:28 a.m.

It’s the very, very early morning of a weekday, but, it’s time to go to work.

Presently, Lieutenant Anderson and Connor were in the lieutenant’s car, with the older man driving and the brown-eyed android in the passenger seat. On the radio station, heavy metal music (the band, Knights of the Black Death) played at a medium volume. Besides that, the two people sat in a comfortable silence.

For a moment, Connor’s LED, which all androids have to wear by law so that it will be clear who is human and who is android, flashed yellow, and his eyes squinted a little bit. The driver noticed this out of the corner of his eye, recognising it as the way that Connor receives information from CyberLife, who was still somewhat in charge but very lenient and progressive and supportive these days, about crimes that occur Detroit.

“What’s happenin’ again, Connor?” Lieutenant Anderson asked Connor, his voice a little rough and still somewhat tired from waking up. The two had already been situated at home for a few hours after returning home from a mostly empty day of work. 

“Well, Det- _Hank_ ,” Connor started talking, cutting himself off from calling him “Detective Anderson.” After the first two weeks of living with the detective, he had insisted for Connor to call him “Hank,” not “Detective Anderson” or “Lieutenant” or “Lieutenant Anderson.” Though, Connor ended up convincing him that it was informal to refer to him as “Hank” when at work, so he just has to call him that when they are at home or participating in recreational activities or in the car on the way to work.

It had already become a habit, so even after such a period of time, Connor still slips up here and there. 

“There has been a reported homicide at the Eden Club downtown,” Connor stated.

“That place again, huh?” 

Connor silently nodded in response. The two had been to the Eden Club (a sex club with android workers) before, when a man was murdered by a Traci android that he had rented. The Traci has killed him out of fear, after he badly damaged the other android he had additionally rented at the same time, and she just wanted to be with the Traci that she loved. 

Connor had been presented with the chance to kill them, but... he couldn’t. The two ran off that night, and he isn’t very sure of what had become of them since then, but he believes it to be good.

This had been one of the first instances of Connor expressing his deviancy.  

“What do we know about it?” Hank questioned. Connor quickly reread the report.

“Thirty-two minutes ago, a female android worker who went by the name ‘Lily’ was found dead in an upstairs bedroom by a male android worker. She was supposedly not working yesterday, but was never seen leaving the building. She was found in her work clothes, and apparently, her torso was torn open.” 

“Jesus...” Hank grimaced, muttering under his breath. 

Due to the... jobs that androids at Eden Clubs perform, it’s a wonder to Connor that so many continued to work there. Some of the androids didn’t know what to do, so they are staying until they figure everything out, but some actually enjoy the job.  

After seven more minutes, Hank’s car pulled into a parking space adjacent to the sidewalk in front of the club. The city was busy as always, bright lights from cars, street lamps, and buildings consuming the darkness. A few more lights came from the ones on top of police cars. Hank turned off the car, and Connor and him got out of it.

“Déjà vu, am I right?” Lieutenant Anderson asked of Connor once he walked over to him, elbowing him in the side before the two walked into the building.

“Indeed,” Connor agreed, having researched in those few seconds what “Déjà vu” meant. 

The partners walked into the building. For a couple of seconds, it truly did feel like Connor went back in time to a few months ago. Back to when Lieutenant Anderson was still getting used to Connor, and Connor was still getting situated into his new position. 

Those moments felt like they had happened so long ago to Connor. So much has changed since then. 

The detectives walked into the main centre of the club. The lighting was deep purples, blues, and pinks, all blending smoothly together. The working androids certainly had more freedom now, no longer having to mainly stay in glass containers and just wait to be rented. Instead, they walked around, danced, interacted. 

Plus, it was their choice to say “yes” or “no,” and, of course, their memories were no longer erased.

There were no searching customers in the building, only working androids and humans (the helping salespeople who assisted customers in choosing an android), and, of course, police. 

Upbeat, dance music played in the speakers as Lieutenant Anderson and Connor made their way upstairs and to crime scene, where four police officers stood outside of the room, guarding it. They recognised the detectives immediately and let them pass through, into the room. 

“Well, well, well, look who’s finally here,” An ignorant voice loudly commented once the partners stepped inside the room. 

A voice that belonged to none other than Gavin Reed, a snotty, narcissistic detective who was completely mean to not only Lieutenant Anderson, but Connor the moment he had begun working on the force. The man definitely didn’t like androids (he nearly killed Connor once); however, Connor has noticed a slight improvement in Detective Reed’s attitude over the recent months.

A _very_ slight improvement.

Next to him was another police officer, Chris Miller, someone Connor had known before the revolution and was quite nice to him and the lieutenant, who looked a bit annoyed with Detective Reed, but seemed to be holding back from saying anything.

“I was wondering when ‘The Great Detective’ and his plastic pet would arrive,” The young detective mockingly announced, a smirk plastered on his face. The police officer next to him rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” Lieutenant carelessly said, walking further into the room with his back towards Detective Reed. “I think we can handle this.” 

“Oh, right, of course you can,” Detective Reed replied in the same tone. He then looked at Connor, as if expecting the android to say something. 

So, he did.

“Hello, Officer Miller, Detective Reed. How are you?” Connor spoke, directing the question to the shorter of the two police. The detective glared at him, not answering the question. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be deviant? You know, feel _emotions and shit_?” Detective Reed questioned Connor, quirking up one of his eyebrows. 

“Yes, I have been able to experience emotions ever since a few months ago; however, it is my choice when to openly express those emotions,” Connor stated, his expression remaining neutral. To Connor’s surprise, this upsets Detective Reed even more. 

“Let’s go,” The detective told the officer, who snuck a small smile towards Connor and respectively said goodbye to Lieutenant Anderson and Connor. The two walked past him and out of the room, and Connor could hear Detective Reed irritatedly grumbling, “Fuckin’ androids, shoulda been goddamn recycled...” 

Connor stared down at the ground silently, his eyebrows furrowed, before turning towards Lieutenant Anderson, who was already turned towards the android.

“Was it something I said?” Connor asked. All the lieutenant did was chuckle, muttering something incomprehensible and turning back to the room. Connor did the same, finally giving his attention to the room.

For the most part, it was in perfect shape. The gold wallpaper, which was not torn anywhere, shone, the bed was made beautifully, and it and a chair were nicely situated in the room. There was a mirrored door to a closet, and it was completely clean. Plus, the mahogany carpet contained no stains.

Well...

For the most part.

On the other side of the room, however, lay still a body on the ground, a dark blue puddle under it and to the left. The WR400 android, named Lilly, was wearing her work clothes: a pair of deep purple undergarments and high heels. She lay on her back, her head tilted the left, with her light purple hair loose and dyed a bit with blue. The front of her torso was completely ripped open, or simply taken off, nowhere to be found. Wires protruded and more thirium (blue blood) leaked almost scarcely out of the opening. There were a lot of parts missing, mostly a lot of wires, but also some gear-like parts, including her biocomponent #8451, which is the thirium pump regulator.

Besides all of that, the android’s LED was completely turned off, and a small trail of Thirium dripped from her slightly open mouth. 

She was dead. 

Connor went over to her and knelt down, careful not to kneel into the blue liquid. It was a little unsettling to be witness to her lifeless body; not just because she was an android, like him, but she was a Traci model just like North, one of the co-leaders of the android revolution and Markus’ partner. He and North were somewhat friends at the moment, due to him having been a deviant hunter before becoming a deviant himself. 

Connor let out a shaky breath (even though he doesn’t require to breathe, the process is quite calming and nearly reassuring to him), pushing down his feelings and trying to remain objective. 

He reached out to Lilly’s mouth and swiped at the blood trail. Then, he proceeded to stick the fingers that had the blood on into his mouth.

“Connor...! Ugh, God, I’ll never get used to that shit...” Lieutenant Anderson groaned out, noticing what Connor was doing. Even though Connor had explained before that he was merely analysing the blood, he understood that it was unnerving to watch him do it.

After a few seconds, Connor was able to figure out that Lilly’s bloodstream was perfectly pure and healthy, and she had died two hours ago, at 1:38 a.m. 

The person who did that to the android could possibly still be in the vicinity, or at least a few miles within, Connor believed. However, he knew that the main focus at that moment was to try and figure out exactly what happened.

He scanned the body, searching for fingerprints. There was only one set, and...

_What?_ Connor thought. 

The fingerprints were unidentifiable. Out of the hundreds of thousands of options in Detroit, and even millions in the country, there was no match. Connor even checked the billions of people in the world.

His attempts were fruitless.

“That’s odd,” Connor quietly stated, staring puzzled at the body. 

“What is it?” Lieutenant Anderson asked, turning away from the closet, which he was about to open.

“There is a set of fingerprints of the body, but I can’t seem to find a match.” 

“Are you sure?” The lieutenant said. Connor double checked.

“Yes. This shouldn’t be possible. Every human should be registered in the identification system since birth.” 

“Well, sometimes people find a way around things,” Lieutenant Anderson shrugged. The kneeling android took in this statement, still quite complexed, and stood up, now having no current use to continue examining the body. 

“I guess there wasn’t much of a struggle,” The older of the two said, “seeing how nothing in the room seems to even be touched.” He sighed before continuing. “Any ideas?”

Connor thought for a moment. He hadn’t found any traces of anyone expect for those who have been inside the room after the body was found. And due to so much blood, the perpetrator could not have simply walked out of the building. The only other exits would be the one downstairs and to the back, and the one down the hallway and to the roof; however, none of the police, including Connor, had detected any blue blood, which couldn’t have evaporated yet due to the short time span, in the hallway, and the police hadn’t found any downstairs either. And, again, someone unfamiliar would have been noticed going downstairs. 

So, the only possible places that the criminal could be were somewhere on the roof, or, perhaps... 

Connor directed his thoughts elsewhere, trying to reconstruct what could have happened. Though, due to the lack of evidence, the only part Connor could know was someone coming into the room, someone Lilly knew, and possibly talking to her before hurting her. 

“Not quite,” Connor shook his head disappointedly. “Perhaps we sh-“ 

“Hey, there’s a guy out here that needs to talk to you two,” An officer that was guarding the room suddenly opened the door, interrupting Connor. 

“Uhh... okay, sure,” Lieutenant answered her, having shot Connor a look that said _do you want to do that?_ , and Connor giving him a slight nod. He was actually going to say that perhaps they should try to go and look for anyone who saw anything when the officer interrupted them.  

The two police left the room, walking past the female officer and allowing the door to close behind them. To the right, a few feet away from all the police and the entrance to the room, was a man, with his arms crossed and his LED flashing between yellow and blue. Connor and Lieutenant walked over to him. 

“Hi,” The worker said, looking up and noticing them. 

“Hey. I’m Lieutenant Anderson, and this is my partner, Connor,” Lieutenant introduced him and Connor.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Anthony,” the android said, halfway smiling. 

“Did you know the victim?” Connor asked.

“Not really,” Anthony shook his head. “She never really talked to any of us. Look, I...” He paused, taking a breath as if to calm himself. “I believe I saw something. _Someone_. I have never seen her before, so I thought you might want to know.” He held out his hand towards Connor, his dark skin retracting and revealing his robotic part underneath. 

Connor made contact with Anthony’s forearm and his own hand. 

Everything changed.

Connor was no longer standing next to Lieutenant Anderson and Anthony, but, instead, looking through Anthony’s eyes. He was dancing on one of the small stages, twirling and dancing flirtatiously around an almost translucent pink pole. Connor knew that this must have been an hour or two earlier, before Lilly’s body was found

A few humans and androids are walking around, both customers and workers. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. 

That is, until Anthony looked up.

He saw the balcony, where Connor and Lieutenant Anderson had walked past to get to the room. It took a few moments, but soon, someone began to walk by it.

Then they stopped and looked out, giving Anthony a better look of them.

Of her.

Anthony was very far away, but it was still clear that the person was a girl wearing the uniform of the Eden Club. She had long, brown hair, and a fair complexion. Her hair was parted to the right, so Connor couldn’t tell if she was an android, but it didn’t seem like it, seeing how he’d never seen anyone who looked like her. He zoomed in on her, and tried to analyse her, figure out who she was; however, there were no matches.

The young girl was unidentifiable.

A couple seconds passed before she walked away.  

The rest of Anthony’s memory went by fast, and it seemed like, from Anthony’s perspective, the girl never walked past the balcony again.

Connor let go of Anthony’s arm, and his dark skin once again took over his hand. 

“I didn’t think too much of it when I saw her, but, now... I’m not sure,” Anthony quietly said, his LED focusing on yellow. “That’s all.” 

“Thank you,” Connor told Anthony before he walked away.

“What’d ya see?” Lieutenant asked Connor.

“There was a girl. She was wearing the workers’ uniform, but I’m not sure she was an android,” Connor explained. “She walked by the balcony.” 

“She could’ve been on her way to the room,” Lieutenant suggested.

“Possibly. It didn’t look like she ever came back.”

“Did you recognise her?” Lieutenant questioned, knowing Connor most likely tried to analyse her.

“No. Not at all.” 

“Then maybe those fingerprints belong to her,” The lieutenant said.  

“But she appeared to be very young, perhaps a fourteen or fifteen year-old. How could she have, as you said, found a way around the system?” 

“She could’ve had help, I don’t know,” Lieutenant Anderson shrugged. Connor’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“I think we should get back to the room,” Connor said. The lieutenant shrugged again, and they walked back inside the room. Connor stood next to where the door was, his eyes scanning the room and taking in as much information as possible. 

Now that he had an idea of what to look for, Connor found something. He walked over to the closet, kneeling down. 

He stared at a long brown strand of hair, estimating that it belonged to a girl in her teens.

“I’m pretty sure a fourteen year-old girl, android or not, couldn’t do _this,_ ” Lieutenant gestured towards Lilly, “to someone, ‘specially an android.” 

“I agree. She appeared to be very thin and light,” Connor stood up and looked around again. “She could have found her after she had been murdered.” 

“Yeah, well, the woman who found the body didn’t say anything about a girl. So, where’d she go?” 

Connor glanced at the closet. It had been the one thing that he and his partner had not searched, along with possibly the other police. 

So, that could mean...

Connor closed his eyes, focusing on the sounds surrounding him.

He could hear Lieutenant Anderson’s breathing and heartbeat, along with his own (technically, his Thirium Pump beating), the heartbeats on the police outside and their voices, and the music from downstairs.

He could also hear another heartbeat.

A very loud and fast one, coming from his right. 

Connor opened his eyes.

“Nowhere,” Connor finally replied. He motioned towards the closet, and Hank perfectly understood what he was implying.

The girl was in the room with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the second chapter of “A Couple Of Cards,” hope you enjoyed it!


	3. The Girl—Nowhere To Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Run, run, run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyyyyyy, hope you had a good holiday or celebration or whatever it is that you did. Happy almost New Year!!!

_Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum._

_In._

_Out._

_In._

_Out._

That was all the girl could hear: her heartbeat and her breathing, her thoughts reminding her to keep doing so. 

She didn’t know how much time had passed since she saw the female android about to come into the room and quickly hid inside the closet. Due to everything that had been going on, her mind had been working...

_Irrationally._

Her eyes were a little raw from crying, which she had made herself stop doing at least half an hour ago. Her horrible eyesight didn’t need any other factor that could make it worse, especially in her situation.

The young girl stood silently, perking her ears up as if that could possibly help her listen in on the people outside of the closet.

First it had been the worker, then a few male and female voices she presumed were police, and currently two male voices she also presumed were police, possibly detectives. They had been talking, coming in and out of the room, but they suddenly went quiet. 

The miss hadn’t really heard what had happened, she had been trying to figure out what she was going to do. She couldn’t just stay in the closet forever, and she knew that someone was going to find her eventually. So, she had begun to formulate a plan, one that involved her going outside; therefore, she took off her shoes, and removed an article of clothing from one of the hangers, a large, white and fluffy coat that completely consumed her small figure, and put it on. She also had a small key, which she had found in the pocket of one of the hanging jackets. The key was pressed against her palm so hard, she could feel it beginning to indent her skin.

With no weapons, all she could do was solely rely on her strength, her speed, and her plan.

It was no wonder she felt like she had a chance of dying. 

The chance was small, however. The girl had done the calculations in her head. She had a 32% chance of getting shot at and hit if making a wrong move, one that was too sudden perhaps. She also had a 49% chance of falling off the roof of the building, which was a necessary place for her to go in order to escape.

All in all, the odds seemed to be in her favour, but things could still go awry. 

Taking a deep and, for the most part, silent breath, the girl gingerly laid her hand on the knob of the door, just enough to feel any pressure coming from the other side. 

It took about 6 seconds for her to feel something. 

The girl hoped that her plan would work before opening the door with all her might.

It slammed into something _hard_ , both the object and the movement. The attack seemed to be such a surprise, the person on the other side was knocked back a few feet.

Perfect.

She quickly ran, noting that there _had_ been two people in the room. The sliding door opened for her just as she took a step towards it, and her motion never paused.

She turned to the left, sprinting as fast as she could. The girl heard a mix of shouting behind her, and heavy footsteps that seemed to be following her.

That was okay, though, as long as she could outrun them.

She took a right, and she knew she was close to what she was heading towards: the door leading up to the roof. From her view point, everything looked almost the same, due to all the colours blending in and the shapes being distorted. All she could do was rely on her memory.

After 12 more steps, the girl made it to the door, which she recognised by touching the handle and remembering the small dent on the lower side of it. She speedily unlocked it with the key, opening it and going through. She shut the door behind her and relocked it, trying to save herself some time.

Dropping the now useless key, the young girl ran up the stairs to the next door, which she immediately opened and then closed behind her. 

Cold wind roughly hit her, attacking her bare skin and pushing her hair out of her face. The concrete beneath her feet felt similar to jagged ice. The area was mostly dark, save the moonlight and surrounding buildings. She stood still for a moment and closed her eyes, recalling memories of being up on the rooftop.

Once she finally got what she needed, she opened her eyes and began moving, hearing muffled thumps from behind her. Retracing her steps from previous moments, she walked right up to the edge of the roof and crouched down. The miss squinted and leaned a bit over the edge, looking for her only escape route: the fire escape. 

She couldn’t see it.

She thought that perhaps that was all it was, she couldn’t _see_ it. So, she lifted her arm down and felt around. 

She felt the side of the building, the freezing material. 

That was all.

The fire escape...

It was...

 _Gone_.

No, _no_ , that couldn’t be right! The child knew that it would be simply impossible for the large contraption to just be gone!

But it was. 

She stood up, a large shiver coursing through her body, from her neck to her toes. 

She looked ahead of her, squinting. There was a building across from the one she was on, but it seemed to be much too far. She most likely had over a 70% chance of dying if trying to jump over to it, be it her not making the jump or almost making it and hanging on to something, but that something being too unstable. 

She had nowhere to go. 

The girl heard footsteps, two pairs, from behind her. They came closer and closer until they were right behind her and stopped. 

“Don’t move!” A voice yelled, a man, presumably, an older one. His voice was a little deep, and rough around the edges, but actually quite nice.

It scared _the hell out of the girl._

The large coat she was wearing suddenly felt way too heavy, her clothes too small, and the blue blood on her too dry, almost breaking her skin.

She didn’t know what to do.

So, she turned around.

In front of her were two people, both a little big in stature. They seemed tall, and one had grey hair, the other possibly having brown hair. They must have been the men who had been in the room when she left it.

That, and the fact that the man with grey hair had a gun pointed at her, was all she could make out.

The girl and the two men were all silent, besides the fact that the girl was quietly gasping for air, the muscles in her neck pushing against her skin.

“P-please, I...” The girl gasped, her voice barely above a whisper. She took a step back, an eighth of her foot going off the edge of the roof. She gasped and turned around. 

She was trapped. 

She turned back around towards the men.

“What are you going to do to me?” She whispered. 

There was a pregnant pause before someone spoke.

“We are going to have to arrest you and bring you down to the police station,” One of the men explained. The girl believed the voice to be coming from the man with brown hair. His voice was young and smooth. “We aren’t going to hurt you as long as you comply with us.” 

The girl carefully considered those words. If she didn’t try to attack them, they wouldn’t attack her back. If she didn’t try to run away, they wouldn’t have to use force to stop her. 

God, she wished Lilly were there to tell her what to do. 

However, without her usual guidance, she had to make the decision on her own. 

So, she did.

“... okay. Okay,” The girl said, a few tears rolling down her face. The man on the left, with the grey hair, lowered the gun and put it away. Then, he slowly walked up to the girl and softly turned her around, pulling her arms behind her and handcuffing her almost as nicely as he could. 

She appreciated that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this!! 
> 
> Btw just played Night In The Woods. Go play that shit or watch someone play that shit, it effed me up real good.


	4. Connor—I Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interrogations can be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy. I’m having a lot of fun writing this story, so the updates are slowly becoming more frequent. 
> 
> Oh, and, so I really, really love autistic Connor, but I feel like I’d fuck up his character if I do since it’s hard for me to write actual characters sometimes, especially if it’s under a headcannon, soooo I’m making the girl be autistic. If she isn’t a good representation please tell me what I can do to make it better, and you’ll see more of her expressing this trait in future chapters!
> 
> She’s going to be autistic and quirky and with where I’m going with her character, I love her, and I hope you will, too.

“What’s your name?”

No response.

“Why were you there?” 

More silence.

The lieutenant sighed. 

“Okay... how’d you know that girl?” 

“... she was my friend. She took care of me.” 

**STRESS LEVELS: 43%**

Connor unconsciously exhaled a breath he hadn’t realised he had been holding at the sound of the girl speaking. After surprising Connor and Lieutenant Anderson by smacking Connor with the closet door and peacefully not resisting her arrest, she had been nothing but silent during the time of being in their custody, so Connor had began to think that perhaps she wouldn’t cooperate. 

“By herself?”

The girl nodded. From even behind the double-sided mirror, Connor could see that her hands were shaking, almost rattling the metal cuffs around her wrists. Plus, she refused to make eye contact with the lieutenant, keeping her eyes down towards her lap. 

Leaning more towards his analytical side, Connor possibly thought that she could be acting that way due to very little social contact. It was unknown at the moment if the girl had ever met anyone other than the victim.

“What about your family?” 

“She _is_ my family,” The girl’s eyes widened at her statement, before quietly saying, “ _was_ my family.” 

**STRESS LEVELS: 51%**

“Do you know anything about your biological family?” 

“... no. I never heard anything about them. Lilly took care of me for as long as I can remember.” 

Lieutenant Anderson’s eyebrows raised a little, and he exchanged a few glances towards where Connor, Detective Reed, and Officer Miller were. The android stood perfectly straight, his hands behind his back and his face nonchalant but serious.

“What the hell? So, what, that android’d been takin’ care of her for her whole fuckin’ life?” Detective Reed loudly asked. 

“That would me impossible,” Connor stated, “The androids like the victim were just released a few years ago.” 

“Thanks for the much needed information,” Detective Reed sarcastically said, mumbling the word “prick” under his breath. Both Officer Miller and Connor chose to ignore him.

“She was a deviant for a long time?” Lieutenant Anderson continued to question the girl.

She just nodded her head in response, looking somewhat to her right.

“... did you kill her?” The lieutenant asked a bit solemnly.

The girl’s head shot up, her hair shifting with her movement, and she finally made eye contact with him, her wide eyes scanning his face. 

“What?!” The girl exclaimed, her voice louder than before. 

**STRESS LEVELS: 70%**

“No! I-I would never, never... why would you...? No, I would _never_ hurt Lilly,”  The young girl relaxed a little, looking back down ashamedly. “Sorry, I... I didn’t mean to yell.” Her hands made contact with each other, anxiously playing with the other’s fingers.

**STRESS LEVELS: 66%**

“It’s fine,” The lieutenant shrugged, a little surprised at the girl’s sudden outburst, just like the men behind the mirror. “Did you see what happened?” 

The girl shook her head.

“But, you found her first, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” the girl nodded, “I didn’t know what to do. When I saw that woman about to enter the room, I hid in the closet and just stayed there.” 

“Did you see anyone?”

“No- well, I don’t know- maybe,” The girl stumbled her words, her forehead creasing in thought. “I think I might’ve.” 

**STRESS LEVELS: 73%**

“You think?” The grey-haired man pushed her a bit.

“My eyesight, it’s not good. Everything’s blurry, all I can make out really are colours and distorted shapes. I have to be super close to something to really see it. 

“Well, what do you think you saw?”

“... there was someone outside the door. It may have been a man, and I don’t think he had an LED. He was tall  and had dark clothes on. It felt like... like he was looking at me.” The girl froze, staring intently at the table. 

**STRESS LEVELS: 77%**

“And you think he did it?” Lieutenant Anderson asked.

“... I’m not sure.” 

There was a moment of silence as the blue-eyed man seemed to think of his next approach. 

“So, you lived with her?” The lieutenant leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

There were a lot of androids at the Eden Club who, of course, had no where to go; therefore, due to some of them actually staying, most manager’s and supervisor’s of the clubs showed kindness and gave them rooms to stay in. 

The long-haired girl stayed quiet for so long, it almost seemed like she wasn’t going to answer and the lieutenant was going to have to ask another question. Though, she answered last second, as if having to think very much if she should answer.

“... kind of. I... in the attic, there’s a secret crawl space, hidden by a poster, that leads to my room. Lily said it was too risky if I stayed in her room.”

“So that no one would know about you,” Lieutenant Anderson concluded.

“Right.” 

“Then, if no one knew about you, where were you before you found her?” 

_A-ha._

That had been the question that Connor had been thinking ever since his partner began interrogating the girl. If she had left her room, that would have risked her being seen, so why do it? And why at that specific time?

Silence. 

The girl didn’t even move.

“You can’t tell me or you won’t?” The lieutenant questioned. The girl opened her mouth as if to respond, but closed it right away. 

**STRESS LEVELS: 79%**

Lieutenant Anderson sighed before getting up and leaving the room. 

**STRESS LEVELS: 62%**

“There’s somethin’ she’s holdin’ out on us,” the lieutenant said before sitting down.

Connor continued to stare at the girl, still trying to analyse her and find anything that gave clues to who she was. All he could find were traces of sweat, paint, some cologne, and blue blood that had by then evaporated and was naked to the human eye.

“No shit,” Detective Reed commented, “She’s probably scared of you.”

“She can’t see, Sherlock,” Lieutenant Anderson immediately quipped back, turning around to face the detective.

“I know. But her sense of smell is probably pretty good, right? Bet she can smell the alcohol right off ya.” 

Connor didn’t restrain himself from rolling his eyes. The insult didn’t even make that much sense! Every since Connor had moved in with Lieutenant Anderson, he had slowly gotten rid of his alcohol dependency. Sure, he still had his moments, but the man hadn’t had a drink and two weeks! 

Detective Reed didn’t seem to see Connor’s reaction, but Lieutenant Anderson sure as hell did, because he _snorted_ and shook his head. 

“What the fuck are you laughin’ about?” Detective Reed frustratedly asked.

“Nothin’, nothin’,” the older man waved him off, “So, smartass, what do you propose we do?” 

“Send in someone who won’t fuckin’ scare her!” 

“Okay...” The lieutenant looked at the detective for a few moments before shifting his eyes to Connor. “Connor, how ‘bout you go and interrogate her.” 

“Wha- hey, your little _toy_ isn’t gonna-“

“Sure, Lieutenant,” Connor interrupted Detective Reed. The android knew that Lieutenant Anderson had suggested that mainly to upset Detective Reed, but after knowing him for the past couple months, Connor knew that it was also because the lieutenant knew what Connor was capable of. He had been able to get confessions out of suspects before, human or not. 

Plus, after the revolution, Connor technically didn’t work as a detective before since CyberLife had gotten him the job, and CyberLife wasn't in control of him anymore. For two months, Connor didn’t have a job; therefore, he did a lot of productivity in his and Lieutenant’s home, such as cleaning and cooking. He also helped take care of Sumo, taking him out on walks a lot. And, for the first month, Connor had been able to have more time with the lieutenant, since after the older man helped Connor by causing a distraction (punching the F.B.I. Agent Perkins in the nose), he had been suspended for the offence. 

After much paperwork and some tests, Connor was finally able to earn his badge and become a real detective last month. 

The android walked out of the room, hearing Detective Reed say how once Connor “doesn’t get any information outta her, he’ll go and actually get the fuckin’ job done.” 

Connor did have to admire Detective Reed’s confidence and incredible stubbornness.

The brown-eyed man entered the room quietly, the girl right away noticing the door opening.

**STRESS LEVELS: 67%**

She looked up at him in surprise before looking right back down and staring at her hands. It almost seemed like she was trying to will them to stop vibrating.

Connor sat down, but not before adjusting the position of the chair. It screeched loudly against the floor, and the girl largely flinched at the sudden noise. Her hands pulled against the handcuffs, reaching towards her face but ultimately being restricted. After realising what she did, the girl laid her arms back on the table, her fingers from her right hand tapping on her left, forming an absentminded beat. 

“Hi,” Connor greeted the green-eyed girl, trying to make his voice as gentle as he could. The teen didn’t seem to respond when her stress levels spiked, so in order for her to talk to him, he would have to help her calm down. “My name is Connor. What’s yours?”

The girl stopped moving her fingers, blinking a few times before looking up at him. She squinted, peering at the right side of his face.

At his blue LED.

She looked back down and remained silent for a few more moments before speaking up.

“April,” she said quietly, “That’s what Lilly called me. But, uh... I never really liked it.” 

“Well, I like it,” Connor complimented her, smiling. She didn’t look back up, but Connor knew that his relationship with her increased a bit then.

**STRESS LEVELS: 63%**

“How old are you, April?” 

“Fourteen.” 

She seemed so young to Connor to be involved in such a situation; he had never interacted with a suspect at such a young age.

“Was that your partner?” April asked before Connor could ask her another question. She looked to her left, to the mirror. Even though she supposedly couldn’t see, it looked like she knew her surroundings quite well.

“Yes,” Connor simply answered.

“I like him. He seems... nice.” One of her nails, which was a dark blue with the drawing of a gold star on it, tapped a few times against the table. “You do, too.” 

**APRIL^^^**

Connor could imagine Lieutenant Anderson telling Detective Reed, “I told you so.” 

**STRESS LEVELS: 60%**

“Did you know your biological family?” Connor asked the girl across from him. 

“I don’t know... but I know that I don’t remember them.” 

Huh. Connor formed the assumption that perhaps she had been taken away from her family at a very young age. Possibly by a kidnapping.

The detective couldn’t think of any other essential questions he wanted to ask April, so he began what he was meant to be good at: negotiation.

“I’m here to help you, April,” Connor told the girl, “but I can’t do that unless you tell me where you were.”

April’s eyes flickered up at him a few times before she fully focused her attention to the mirror.

“They... they really think I did it, don’t they?” She sadly asked. 

Connor considered lying to her, but his lies had only seemed bring others pain. He knew that honesty was the best option, especially since Lieutenant Anderson had basically already confirmed her question.

“Yes, but that’s only because they don’t have any other choice. For now, you are our main suspect. I can help you, April. I can get you out of this, but in order for me to do that, I need you to trust me,” Connor tried to convince the girl.

**APRIL^^^**

**STRESS LEVELS: 51%**

“I-I... I don’t know if I can,” April stuttered, “If I tell you... I could be in trouble.” 

“Trouble?” Connor questioned. “Is there anyone else who knows about you?” By the way April had talked, it had sounded like Lilly had been the only person who knew of her existence.

“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “But... I could get hurt. Could you... could you protect me?”

Protect her? 

The question seemed a little out of line; however, she sounded so desperate that Connor couldn’t help but empathise with her. 

Yes, empathy: yet another emotion that Connor frequently experienced.

He wanted to say “yes,” but he really didn’t know. 

“I’m not sure if I can, but I would try,” Connor told April. 

**APRIL^^^**

**STRESS LEVELS: 42%**

“I don’t... can I... promise? Do you promise?” She looked up at him, squinting and trying to take in his features. 

“I promise,” Connor said firmly. 

April took a deep breath. 

**APRIL^^^**

**STRESS LEVELS: 35%**

“Sometimes... I had to do... _things_... so that Lilly could have... stuff. Sometimes stuff for both of us. Before I... I found Lilly, I was doing one of those things. I was with a man... I think his name was Beckett James.” 

“What kind of ‘things?’” Connor asked, turning his head a bit to the left, unaware of what she was referring to.

“Things that Lilly did... as her job.” 

Oh.

_Oh._

Connor was sometimes naïve, but he certainly understood what that meant. 

He suddenly felt sick to his (metaphorical) stomach. April was only fourteen, and yet she had participated in such actions? With presumably older people? Had she been forced?

Had the victim, Lilly, been forcing her?

That question made Connor feel only worse, due to how April seemed to speak and think so highly of her. 

The answer did, though, make some sense to Connor. It helped explain why the girl was wearing the uniform of the Eden Club workers. Maybe if she were to be caught, she could try to pass off as a confused android, covering her LED with her hair?

Wait, had the people that April had been with known that she was human?

All Connor knew was that, for now, he had all the information he needed.

He cleared his throat and stood up. 

“Thank you, April,” he told the girl, “I assure you, I _will_ try my best to help you.” 

April didn’t say anything as she looked up at him.

Connor smiled at her once more before leaving the room.

He wasn’t sure she knew that he smiled, but he was sure that he hoped she did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this! Expect the next update pretty soon, I’ve already started writing it!
> 
> Btw, I was thinking about how androids can change their hair colour, and then I was thinking what if they could make their hair longer. Well, I know that their hair can’t just grow back, since their androids, but for kids, that would probably be somewhere in their coding, right?
> 
> Anyway, my point is, all androids seem to be able to control their hair, due to Kara’s representation of such, so WHY THE HELL DID SHE CUT HER HAIR IF SHE COULD JUST CHANGE IT COMPLETELY?!?
> 
> Just a theory.


	5. April—Thank You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Police stations are... okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! I’m really happy I finished this chapter and I’m also really tired soooo I’m going back to sleep. I don’t really have anything to say, so hope you like the chapter!

Uncomfortable.

That was how April felt in her current situation.

She sat on a something that was supposed to be a bed, it being connected to the wall and the floor. It was smooth and not soft at all, and about a couple inches longer than her. She was sitting cross-legged, the thick, white, furry coat hanging on her shoulders, providing her body with a pressure she hadn’t realised she needed until she entered the room.

It was quite empty, asides from the bed-like furniture piece and the silver toilet to the left of it, a small wall connected to the bed covering it up from the see-through wall. 

Speaking of which, besides that one, all the walls were a bright write, with a single, thick red line drawn a little too high to be centred and a grey 1 above the bed. The ground and the bed were white, as well. 

April shivered, despite the fact that she didn’t even feel that cold.

Talking to those men had left her feeling... 

Unaware?

Perhaps. Unaware of what was happening, of what was going to happen. Of why what had happened happened, and what she had just done by naming that man, Beckett James. She usually never even knew those people’s names, but, every once in a while, one of them introduced themselves to her. That man, Beckett James, a woman, Zoe Lind, another man, Ian Kiastra. 

April’s palms pressed against the smooth surface of the bed, her perfect nails tapping, recalling one of the beats to a set of music from the club. 

That reminded her of another thing she was unaware of: would she ever even go back to what she called home?

When she, hopefully, left the police station, where would she even go?

April took a deep breath, forcing herself to say calm and try to avoid thoughts of the future, instead focusing on those of the present.

However, all she could think of was how goddamn uncomfortable she was.

The bones of the lower parts of her body were harshly pressed against the hard surface, she didn’t have anything to keep herself entertained so she was absolutely bored out of her mind, and the room was so bright.

God, just being aware of how bright the room was made it feel ten times worse.

The building was very lit up, so it just added to the horrible glare of the blank room. It all made April’s head hurt and her fingers lose their rhythm, turning to a made-up beat. 

Closing her eyes, the pretty girl forced her hands to a stop and lay down on her left side, shifting the coat so that it stayed on her as if it were a blanket.

She soon fell asleep, and there were no dreams to provide any comfort in her unconscious state. 

After a few hours, April woke up from what one could barely call a full set of rest. She sat up and raked her fingers through her long hair, slowly remembering where she was as she squinted, looking around the room.

It was still awfully bright, making the girl want to just close her eyes again. 

Ugh, and how the only noises were just the voices of the police officers and simple things like air conditioning was bothersome because April was so used to the muffled music and Lilly, god, Lilly waking her up, Lilly, _where’s Lilly why hasn’t she come in yet where the hell is_ -

April shut her eyes tight and brought her knees to her chest, unconsciously rocking back and forth slowly.

God, she was spiralling, wasn’t she?

She didn’t know how much time passed, but it seemed as if, suddenly, there was a hand on April’s shoulder. Her eyes shot open and she jumped back, her body hitting the side of the bed roughly. The hand had immediately left her body, but the place it had touched burned in response. 

She blinked a few times, trying to focus on who was in front of her. 

April squinted, looking at what appeared to be a woman, another police officer, with dark hair and light skin. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the woman apologised. “I guess you didn’t hear me, huh? My name’s Tina. Yours is April, right?” 

April didn’t say anything, only nodding her head once. 

“Well, April, I need you to come with me somewhere. Do you think you’ll be okay with that?” The woman’s voice was gentle and quiet, like that other man’s, Connor’s. It was like she was talking to a child.

And, with what was going on, April felt like that was appropriate.

The girl nodded again. 

“Okay, good. Now, I’m gonna have to handcuff you-“

Oh god, just the thought of those cold and uncomfortable bracelets on the girl’s thin wrists hurt.

“-unless you can promise me that you’re not gonna do anything stupid. Can you do that for me?” 

April nodded, trying very hard to find her voice.

“Promise,” she was barely able to say, her mouth filling as if there was cotton in it. The woman, Tina, smiled at her. 

“Good. Now all you have to do is hold my hand, okay?” The police officer held out her hand toward’s April. The young girl put on her coat before hesitantly grabbing the woman’s hand. The contact still somewhat hurt, but it wasn’t too painful to bare. Tina’s hand was smooth and warm.

April felt a little bit less stressed as she stood up with help from Tina. They walked out of the room, with Tina a little bit in front, helping lead April through the station. 

“Ms. Tina, where are we going?” April asked, moisture coming back to her mouth. She refused to look up or around her, knowing that there was probably other people around them. 

“To the doctor’s. And, while we’re there, maybe we can find you some clothes and a pair of shoes...” 

April did know that she needed shoes, hating having to walk barefoot on the cold ground. And, yes, perhaps some new clothes would be good, but...

The doctor’s?

“Why are we going to a doctor?” April questioned as they walked outside. 

“Well, April, we need to have you get a check-up, and some tests done.” 

“Tests?” 

“Yeah. You see, we need to go to the gynaecologist, which is...” 

Tina went on, explaining what that kind of doctor was, and how April had to go in order to help her. The young girl already knew what a gynaecologist was, despite her never having been to one, and she didn’t really understand what Tina meant by it helping her, but once they got into the police car, April didn’t talk anymore.

Once the two girls got to the hospital, April was examined by a doctor, doing a number of simple tests and examinations, like her weight, which was a little under average, her hearing, and her eyesight, which was obviously not good. 

After that, they went to another wing of the hospital, to the gynaecologist, and after a series of invasive (but not really too abnormal for her) tests were performed on April, Tina and the nice female doctor went outside the room and talked. 

The two women came back inside, and the female doctor gave April a long talk about how the girl was born without an important reproductive part of her body: her uterus. And, basically, that meant that she couldn’t really have kids, and that she didn’t get periods. Then she explained what those were and what menopause was and some other things about April’s “changing body.” 

The green-eyed girl didn’t know how to feel about all of that information, but, in the moment, she didn’t feel too bothered by it. Not being able to bear children was one of the last things on her mind. 

Then, the doctor was able to give April some clothes: a navy Detroit Gears shirt that was a little big on her, a pair of light blue jeans that were a little snug, and a baby blue sweatshirt, along with a pair of black tennis shoes. 

April kept the Eden Club uniform under her new clothes, not feeling very comfortable taking it off so no one made her, same with the coat. 

On the ride back to the police station, Tina still didn’t mention to April why to had to go to that other doctor. The police officer did, however, make some small talk, pointing to some buildings and roads and restaurants, places where she liked to go with her wife. April was listening, but was silent the whole time, up until they went back inside the station.

Tina walked April back to the room, still holding her hand, and thanked her for behaving so well, and if April needed anything, she could talk to Tina. 

April just nodded and said a small thanks in response as the door slid to a close behind her. 

The girl sighed and sat back down on the bed, not having realised how nice it had been to leave that damn room and actually go outside.

Before, she never really got to leave her room, unless it was to do a job or go upstairs on the roof with Lilly. They’d sneak up there on days she wasn't working, and bask in the natural sunlight and talk as if everything in their lives were normal. Then, at night, they would stare up at the moon and the stars, and Lilly would tell her about constellations that she knew, and back when her eyes were good, April would make up some of her own.

She was never going to have those kinds of moments again, was she?

April reached out and stroked the coat, which she had lay next to her. She didn’t feel very comfortable wearing it anymore since she had actual clothes to help keep her warm, but she didn’t want to get rid of it.

It was the last part of Lilly she had. 

Oh god, she hadn’t even realised that until that moment. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to get rid of it. It was from Lilly’s closet, for God’s sake, and the android had loved that coat to death. 

Loved...

April’s vision suddenly became worse, and she slowly raised her hand up to her face, brushing her index finger against her cheek to discover wetness. She hadn’t even been aware that she had started crying, her bottom lip wobbling.

The young girl backed herself into the corner of the bed, exhaling a shaky breath and covering her eyes. The tears just pooled up in her hands as she tried to will them to come to a stop. 

Though, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the thought of her friend out of her head, along with the aching feeling inside of her chest that didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

April made herself take a few deep breaths, trying to use her past experiences to calm herself down. Nothing was going to be gained if she went into full-blown panic attack mode, she knew that, but making herself calm down was easier said than done.

After a few more seconds, the stream of tears slowed down, April’s breathing become easier to do. 

There was an extremely thin blanket next to the girl, so she used that to dry her hands and face with. She definitely didn’t want to get her new clothes wet.  

Once her face was dry, April continued to focus on her breathing. That was until she couldn’t shake off a sudden feeling of confusion and... she couldn’t tell, but perhaps a slight sensation of concern? 

She looked around the blank room before her eyes landed on the door. She jumped a little bit, seeing a figure. Squinting, she noticed the bright colour of blue at the top of the figure.

“... Connor?” April asked, her voice a little weak. 

“Hello, April,” the android greeted her, “Are you alright? I have noticed that your stress levels are particularly high, and that you might be experiencing a panic attack.” 

The girl noticed him saying, “experiencing,” and she hated that she knew that the attack hadn’t simply gone away because she was (somewhat) breathing. It didn’t work like that, and she still felt like a ball of nervous energy. 

She wondered how Connor had analysed her, seeing how when Lilly used to do it, she would be pretty close to April and looking at her. Though, he could have been walking by the cell and she simply hadn’t had noticed. She wasn't being particularly perceptive in that moment.

“Uh... fine-I’ll be fine, I mean,” April replied, sitting up a bit straighter and blinking a few times. God, her head hurt like hell. 

“Are you sure? I don’t think I could do much, but I could get someone to help you, if you would like. Perhaps Officer Tina?” 

April felt the ghost of a smile on her face from Connor being nice, and the thought of Ms. Tina also being nice. 

“No, no, no, I don’t need help. Thanks.” The girl paused for a moment, having suddenly realised something. “But, uh, there is something you can help me with.” 

She stood up and walked over to the door, trying not to fall over from feeling light-headed. 

“Can you... like, uh... take me to the bathroom? I know there’s a toilet in here, but I’d rather not...” April’s finger’s twitched, and her hands found each other behind her back and fiddled with each other. Though, her fingers ached for something more, like one of her brushes or a pencil. 

“Of course.” April saw the right part of Connor’s figure change, and then the door slid open. “I am forced to restrain your hands; however, I think it’s okay if I just hold them behind your back,” he explained, his tone holding the hint of a smile. 

April nodded and took a few steps out of the room before turning her back towards the detective. She put her hands behind her herself, in the same position Connor’s partner had when they had arrested her. 

She felt Connor slowly grab her wrists, tight enough that she wouldn't be able to escape his grasp if she tried anything, but loose enough that it didn’t hurt.

“Just... tell me where,” April quietly said. 

Connor directed her to the bathroom, which was very close to the cell, only about 23 steps away. Once they both stood in front of the door, Connor let go of the girl’s wrists and told her that he would wait for her. She silently nodded in response and went inside.

The bathroom was pretty similar to the room April was staying in: very plain with white walls. There were a few stalls that were black, matching the connected sinks. 

She went into the closest stall, and left it after a few minutes. After washing and drying her hands, April looked up and stared at the mirror in front of her.

She couldn’t see her reflection, of course. At least, not very well. She could see the dark brown, like trees and dirt, of her hair, the baby blue of her hoodie, and the soft blue of her jeans. 

Suddenly, with no reason nor purpose, a thought ran across April’s mind.

Would Lily like her outfit?

Oh god, it got even worse when April, not even really meaning to, corrected herself, thinking would she _have liked_ it.

She tightly closed her eyes, and the horrible image of the last time April saw Lilly appeared in the darkness. It felt like April could hear her past cries echoing around her, bouncing on the bathroom walls.

April’s stomach felt like it was doing flips, and when she opened her eyes in hopes to stop reliving the event from last night (wow, it was really just _last night_ ), she had to quickly put a hand over her mouth.

The girl turned around and went right back into the bathroom, kneeling down on the white tile and emptying the contents of her stomach into their toilet. She had been given some food a few hours ago, and it was sort of filling, but April hadn’t been hungry, and the food wasn’t even that good, so there was barely anything inside her stomach. 

Once she got to the point of coughing and dry heaving, April flushed the toilet for the second time and slowly pulled herself back up. She washed her hands again before cupping her hands under the faucet, bringing water to her mouth in hopes of getting rid of the gross bile flavour in her throat. 

After drying her mouth and hands once more, and brushing off her knees and calves, April left the bathroom, still feeling pretty nauseous.  

Her and Connor, again holding April’s wrists, walked back to her room. 

“Are you sure you will be alright?” Connor asked as he let go of her. “Your stress levels have not gone down very much.”

“Yeah... yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine,” the girl repeated herself from before. She wasn’t really lying, but she hoped it wouldn’t take long for her to really calm down. She walked into the room, standing a foot from where the door was opened. 

“Oh, and Connor?” April suddenly said before Connor rose his hand to close the door. “Thank you.” 

“No problem.”

The door closed silently as April thought she saw Connor smile and nod once at her before walking away. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this, hope you enjoyed it!!


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